Anyone here into Jeeps?

SilverBullet00 said:

With winter around the corner I have been researching jeeps, so I can leave the mustang in the garage when it snows. What should I look for in a jeep? How many miles are the motors good for? I'm not too picky, so I have been looking at the wrangler, cherokee and grand cherokee - most of which have 100,000-120,000 miles on them. Or course, I need it as cheep as I can possibly get one.. I was thinking on a 5-6,000 budget..

Anyways, I am just looking for advice. This would be my first Jeep, and I really dont know what to look for. Any help would be great!

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i dont have one, but i have friends who do, and jeeps are just as bad as mustangs when it comes to the mod bug.


that being said...get a jeep with the 4.0L I6. i have a couple friends that are mechanics that tell me that this motor is one of the most durable longest lasting motors on the road. it takes the abuse and keeps on trucking. 100-150,000 miles is nothing for those motors

mustang50v8 said:

that being said...get a jeep with the 4.0L I6. i have a couple friends that are mechanics that tell me that this motor is one of the most durable longest lasting motors on the road. it takes the abuse and keeps on trucking. 100-150,000 miles is nothing for those motors

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the man speaks the truth , get the 4.0L , they are quite durable and proven themselves over time, in all my life i haven't seen gone bad and my neighbor has one with 320000km on the odo and still runs like brand new.

I have a 4.0 Cherokee Sport. I love it to death. It is as much fun to drive as the 'Stang, just on a different level.

I have 178k on it and the compression test came back way more consistant than the Mustangs did, and it doesnt burn oil. The auto transmissions are just as tough as the engine.

If it suits you, I would reccomend the Cherokee out of all of those. Wranglers are small and harsh, Grand Cherokee's are nice if you want something a little larger. Certain years had pretty common transmission and other driveline related issues though. Cherokee's have become very affordable.

The brakes are generally not good in most Jeeps, but check for any tell tail signs that they are on their way out. Make sure all 4x4 selections work (do this offroad, even in dirt or grass) if it is a 4wd, listen for any strange noises from the engine and suspension, the normal routine stuff.


Here are some shots of my Cherokee.

a very clean and beautiful car BurningRubber

I bought a 1994 4.0 I6 Cherokee Sport with 112k on her this past July because I don't want to drive the stang in the winter or bad weather any more. These jeeps are awesome. I put a 63mm TB on her, removed the air silencer and put a drop in K&N filter. Next year I'm going to get some soft 8 rims, bigger tires, headers, magnalfow high flow cat and a magnaflow cat back. I already notice a nice difference in power with the 63mm TB and K&N over the stock 55mm tb. With all the exhaust and headers mods I should be pushing about 220 crank hp. These jeeps are light have lots of tq down low and are fun. The nice thing is you can get them for cheap and the 4.0 I6 will last till at least 300,000 miles. One thing to keep in mind is that 00-01 jeeps had head cracking issues so if you are looking for a jeep Cherokee I would look for 91-99 and if you like the newer interiors then go with 97-99

Yeah, everyone is giving good advice
The I6 is a very reliable engine. They are know for cracking their exhaust manifold and leaking oil from the valve cover but thats about it. The auto seems more durable then the stick for some reason too. The 318 V-8 is somewhat problematic. After 120K the engines are usually ready for a tear down as they will eat the main bearings. The brakes on Grands up till 98 suck and will need to be replaced regularly. They love to eat rotors
The 5.9 RT Grands are very nice and quite powerful. They can be had for 6K in great shape but will reward you wil 13 mpg Even the 5.2 is only gonna give 17ish mpg.
Your best bet would be a Cherokee Country or Sport

87-00 Cherokee. I used to work for Chrysler/Jeep and these are hands down the most reliable. Of course you have issues with random crap, but the powertrains just don't quit.

I would also say stay away from the Grand Cherokee, I have herd of a lot of people have electrical issue, transmission issue and break issues with them. Go with the regular XJ Cherokee.

My brother has a tricked out wrangler and I love it, so much fun and it is a babe magnet!! My dad also has a 2004 Cherokee Limited and it is really nice. It just rolled over 100k miles and it runs like a champ. Haven't had any issue with it. Jeeps are awesome vehicles

Note: my brother just put on some performance parts on. He has a 4.0 inline 6. Took it to the track when I went to race and ended up racing it against a few new edge and 99-04 V6 stangs. Won every race even with the 33's on. **** is quick for a Jeep

SilverBullet00 said:

Well, after doing the math I have about 6k to purchase a jeep with. I am looking for a 97-99 Jeep Cherokee. Hopefully I am able to find one around town in my price range.

Who knows, maybe I will start modding the hell out of it and get rid of the stang?

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You should be albe to find one for under that price without an issue. Good luck with the find. As I said these Cherokees are fun. I will post some pics of mine when I get home from work.

Here are a couple options
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars...arms=39:1|65:7|240:1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245
Cars For Sale: Car Details - AutoTrader.com
Cars For Sale: Car Details - AutoTrader.com
I always liked this color and this one is a good deal .... mabey not, it was driven by a kid with a new license for two years... why would someone advertise that as a good thing?
Cars For Sale: Car Details - AutoTrader.com
Cars For Sale: Car Details - AutoTrader.com

Pics of my 94 jeep

Thats a clean jeep

kuwait said:

a very clean and beautiful car BurningRubber

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Thanks man...

SilverBullet00 said:

Thats a nice ass jeep. Thats essentially what I want, I just need to find something in my price range.

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Thanks, its what got me into modding in the first place...

You won't have trouble finding an affordable Cherokee.

LaserSVT said:

Yeah, everyone is giving good advice
The I6 is a very reliable engine. They are know for cracking their exhaust manifold and leaking oil from the valve cover but thats about it. The auto seems more durable then the stick for some reason too. The 318 V-8 is somewhat problematic. After 120K the engines are usually ready for a tear down as they will eat the main bearings. The brakes on Grands up till 98 suck and will need to be replaced regularly. They love to eat rotors
The 5.9 RT Grands are very nice and quite powerful. They can be had for 6K in great shape but will reward you wil 13 mpg Even the 5.2 is only gonna give 17ish mpg.
Your best bet would be a Cherokee Country or Sport

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The exhaust manifold thing is pretty common, but they offer very cheap high quality headers for a bit under $200 that have a garuntee with them... can't beat that upgrade.

GC's are hit and miss. 5.2's like to puke the oil pump, aswell as bearing problems like you said. Most Chrysler auto's from that year range are horrid.

The Cherokee's auto transmission IS NOT A CHRYSLER TRANSMISSION, just to clear the air.

It is a variation of the same transmission used behind auto Toyota Supra's. They will hold up very well.

Smokeurhonda said:

87-00 Cherokee. I used to work for Chrysler/Jeep and these are hands down the most reliable. Of course you have issues with random crap, but the powertrains just don't quit.

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Yeah, at times it will nickle and dime you for little stuff, but the important things seem to hold together untill the rest of the Jeep has fallen apart around them...

The good thing is, parts generally are not expensive and almost everything is easy to work on.

SilverBullet00 said:

Well, that pretty much makes up my mind. How is insurance on jeep cherokee's? I can only hope it would be significantly cheaper than the stang...

BurningRubber- You want to sell that thing?

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Insurance isnt bad at all, I don't see how it wouldn't be less than a Mustang.

You'd have to pry it from my cold, dead hands... It was my first vehicle and it has always served me well. I don't plan on parting with it unless I absoloutly have to.

SilverBullet00 said:

Well, after doing the math I have about 6k to purchase a jeep with. I am looking for a 97-99 Jeep Cherokee. Hopefully I am able to find one around town in my price range.


Who knows, maybe I will start modding the hell out of it and get rid of the stang?

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6k will get you far. For what its worth, I paid 4k for mine (a 97 model) in 2003 with 121k on it. If I were to buy it today with the same mileage, it would be right around $2500-3k +/- a little.

As stated, you want to shoot for an 87-01.

87-90's were good, but used the Renix fuel injection which wasn't as reliable as the Chrysler multi-port injection that they switched to in 1991, and they re-dubbed the 4.0 the "4.0 HO" because it got a decent power increase over the 87-90 model years. All 91+ are High Output motors.

1996-1999 are the best years to look for in my opinion. 1996 was a transition year and the interior picked up a few odds and ends that signify the newer body style.

1997 they got an exterior and interior design.

Starting in 1996 (I beleive, if not 96 it was 97) the engine got some internal tweaking that made it even more bullet proof and some changes that helped combat ring wear.

'00-'01 models had a bad batch of heads that had cracking issues. It's hit or miss, some may have been taken care of, some not. Some may never crack... They also switched to a COP ignition system (like our 'Stangs) in '00 aswell as added a bunch of smog crap. I personally would not look for an '00-'01 because of that, but I'm not saying they are bad, just not my cup of tea.

Happy hunting, lol. And the mod bug hits just as hard as it does with a Mustang...

02nightmaregt said:

Thats a clean jeep

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Thanks